From potential hackers peeking over your shoulder to suspicious emails with dangerous attachments, there are a lot of cybersecurity threats for unwary international travelers to be aware of.
From potential hackers peeking over your shoulder to suspicious emails with dangerous attachments, there are a lot of cybersecurity threats for unwary international travelers. Within minutes of accessing compromised Wireless hotspots or mistakenly downloading a virus from the Web, travelers could have their personal information stolen. Protect yourself and your electronics while you’re traveling abroad.
Here are a few tips to help keep your electronics and personal information safe during travels. For an extra level of peace of mind, consider purchasing security coverage to help cover potential losses.
Beware unsecured Wi-Fi hotspots While traveling abroad, be very wary of what Wi-Fi networks you try to use. According to Secnap Network Security, Wi-Fi networks can be hosted by hackers trying to access your information. Once you connect to these wireless services, all of your personal information could be at another person’s fingertips. Secnap recommends avoiding public Wi-Fi as much as possible. If you need to access Wi-Fi services, ask the airport or hotel to confirm the name of its network. Much of the time, fake W-iFi networks will try and copy a reputable organization’s name, changing the original name only slightly. As a rule of thumb, don’t transmit any information over an unsecured connection that you wouldn’t want a third party seeing. Transmitted information is easy to intercept.
Unsecured Bluetooth connections In the same way Wi-Fi can be unsecured and make it easy for others to access your personal information or hack your devices to download malicious software. To prevent this from happening, turn off Bluetooth whenever you don’t intend on using it. You can also manage your Bluetooth preferences to prevent wireless services from gaining access to your devices without authorization.
Use public computers cautiously According to McAfee a device or digital service called keylogger can be used to track keystrokes and obtain personal information. Keylogger can sometimes be applied to public computers, giving cyberhackers access to any information you host from the system. To protect yourself, do your best to avoid public computers. At the very least, do not access any personal accounts or information from a public computer.
Watch for wandering eyes One of the most common and basic methods of stealing personal information is simply looking over someone’s shoulder to see what they’re working on.
“People forget about the over-your-shoulder problem when traveling,” Sian John, UK security strategist at Symantec, told CNN. “Most people don’t have a privacy screen on their laptop still, so anyone sitting next to you can look over your shoulder and see what you’re doing.”
That means, if you’re typing in passwords, accessing your personal files or chatting with someone online, a third party could be spying on you to discover some of your personal information or even record you in an attempt to steal your data.
Privacy screens can be used to blur the the monitor for bystanders who are not looking at a screen straight on. These screens can be used for all sorts of different devices and they can help block others from viewing your work. On the other hand, being wary of who is around you spying when you’re accessing sensitive materials can save you a lot of trouble.
Helpful recommendations There are many things you can do to protect your information from a cyberbreach, according to Secnap Network Security.
- Remember to update your operating system and applications before traveling.
- Make sure you’re running the most recent updates on anti-virus software.
- Add passwords to your laptop and smartphone that automatically wipe personal information after a certain number of unlocking attempts.
- Enable a firewall on your laptop to prevent others from accessing it remotely.
- Link a cloud service to your smartphone and laptop to back up information and track your belongings in case they are stolen.
From potential hackers peeking over your shoulder to suspicious emails with dangerous attachments, there are a lot of cybersecurity threats for unwary international travelers to be aware of.
Source: AIG TravelGuard